(Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports)
One thing was certain about the KC Royals when spring training ended and they headed North to begin their season—they weren’t playoff-bound.
They still aren’t, and won’t be. Despite winning 10 of the last 14 games, going 23-18 since the All-Star Break, and leading the American League Central for three weeks earlier in the season, the Royals were 16 games out of first and 15 behind in the Wild Card race with 33 games remaining immediately after Sunday’s game loss to Seattle.
Those deficits are too much to overcome even for a team playing as well as Kansas City is.